The Opioid Emergency Response Program in Travis County aims to combat opioid overdoses. Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) started the program with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services over a year ago and, since then, Commander Blake Hardy said they have saved more than 200 people from dying because of an overdose. The EMS opioid response team connects survivors to medication-assisted treatment, prevention education and peer recovery support. They also follow up at survivors' homes to assist in accessing resources. Hardy said they get five to six opioid overdose calls a month, which is down from last year. He said this may be thanks to opioid overdose rescue kits they hand out. The kit comes with gloves, along with a fentanyl test strip. "Heroin is not good for you; it can be deadly and dangerous enough, and fentanyl increases that by a magnitude," he said.  

Fire crews responded to a structure fire in Cherokee County that engulfed a 4000 square-feet home. According to Rafe Dean, a firefighter with the North Cherokee Volunteer Fire Department, crews responded to the fire at 160 Randall Rd. He said the call came in between 11:30 a.m. and noon. No injuries have been reported. As firefighters pick up debris, all the Avis family could think about is the memories that surrounded this home. They've lived here since 2013. "It was a structure fire, and we showed up and…it was unsafe to go inside so we started putting water on the fire, to try and get it put out," said Lake Palestine East Fire Chief Gary Cannon. The Avis family wasn't home as the house went up in flames. The winds made it difficult for firefighters.  

The parents of the late Lubbock Fire Department Lieutenant Eric Hill want to carry on his legacy. With the 5-5-5 initiative, Mark and Susan Hill hope to save lives in his memory. "Most people know, before radio, and things like that, they would ring bells to let fire department personnel know what was happening in different places, and when a firefighter fell, they would ring five bells three times," Mark Hill, Lt. Hill's father, said. Lt. Hill and Lubbock Police Department Officer Nicholas Reyna were struck and killed working a series of wrecks on North I-27 last month. "We've been told by several people here that he saved lives, and that people are walking around Lubbock today, because he was a good paramedic, and we want to continue that legacy," Mark said. The first "five" is leave five minutes early.  

A church that has been around the Houston-area for 100 years has burned to the ground, and now the pastor is left trying to figure out what's next. On Sunday morning, the Greater New Macedonia Baptist Church in Rosharon caught fire. The blaze destroyed the building and everything inside. Pastor Carlton Wade met with ABC13 Monday as he looked through the rubble. "I can lose my car, lose my house, lose my money, but when it came to this, I was like a helpless animal that got hurt and I had no way out," Ward said. The Brazoria County Fire Marshal is investigating the incident. The agency told ABC13 the cause of the fire is undetermined, but it believes it was sparked by an electrical issue and was not set on purpose. No one was inside the church at the time of the fire, and no one was hurt putting it out.  

Hopkins County Commissioners Court and Fire Chief Andy Endsley recognized Arbala Volunteer Fire Department Monday for the department's continued service to the community. As part of Hopkins County Fire Department's 20th anniversary celebration, the court and chief recognized the volunteer fire departments (in order by station number) for their continued role to respond with HCFD in service to the community. Hopkins County Judge Robert Newsom, on behalf of the court, "urges all citizens to applaud the outstanding efforts of the Arbala Volunteer Fire Department, to recognize the dedication in their perseverance to provide protection for each citizen and their property and, offer heartfelt appreciation for the servanthood of each one."  

A boy from Florida who runs for our heroes says he's headed to Lubbock later this week to give a grant to injured Lubbock Firefighter Matt Dawson. Zechariah Cartledge runs a mile for each first responder across the nation who has fallen in the line of duty. The 11-year-old ran for Officer Nicholas Reyna and Fire Lieutenant Eric Hill last month. His nonprofit, Running 4 Heroes, collects funds to offer grants to injured first responders. Saturday evening, he said he would travel to Lubbock in a week to present a $5,000 grant to the Dawson family to help with medical expenses. His efforts inspired a Lubbock police officer to organize a run for fellow first responders in the wake of the January 11th tragedy. Zechariah has run 404 miles since the Running 4 Heroes nonprofit was founded last January.  

New Orleans firefighters claim current staffing shortages threaten their ability to put out fires in the city on a timely basis. "When it comes down to the actual manpower on the streets, we're at critical mass now," Firefighters Union President Aaron Mischler said. According to the Mischler, his members will no longer work excessive overtime to cover for a city administration and department that can't attract or retain employees. "They're trying to bring people in," Mischler said. "Last year, the mayor budgeted for 50 new hires. We hired 8. This year, they budgeted for another 50. We're at 39 going on through the process, right now, but it's not keeping up with attrition." The union claims the NOFD's call volume has increased 150% over the last decade while the number of firefighters has dropped by 25%. The department's 480 or so rank-and-file personnel constitutes the lowest staffing level in the agency's 128-year history.  

VIDEO: The parents of the late Lubbock Fire Department Lieutenant Eric Hill want to carry on his legacy. With the 5-5-5 initiative, Mark and Susan Hill hope to save lives in his memory. "Most people know, before radio, and things like that, they would ring bells to let fire department personnel know what was happening in different places, and when a firefighter fell, they would ring five bells three times," Mark Hill, Lt. Hill's father, said. Lt. Hill and Lubbock Police Department Officer Nicholas Reyna were struck and killed working a series of wrecks on North I-27 last month. "We've been told by several people here that he saved lives, and that people are walking around Lubbock today, because he was a good paramedic, and we want to continue that legacy," Mark said. The first "five" is leave five minutes early. The second is slow down five miles an hour below the speed limit. The third is hug five people you love every day.  

Researchers at Washington University have found that paramedics and emergency medical technicians are seven times as likely as the general public to have thought about suicide in the past year. Five emergency medicine doctors surveyed more than 900 paramedics in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Iowa over three months in 2017. The results were published in an industry journal this month. "They witness firsthand some of the most horrific things that can happen to a human being, so that in itself is stressful," said Dr. Bridgette Svancarek, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wash U and the assistant program director of the school's EMS fellowship. "On top of that, the pay is poor, and the hours can be pretty awful."  

Camden city officials, union officials and its fire department will send a set of proposals to the state Civil Service Commission that they hope will, once approved, avert the need to lay off any front-line firefighters. In a letter obtained by the Courier-Post, Mayor Frank Moran wrote to Deirdre Webster Cobb, chair and CEO of the Civil Service Commission, about the loss of a $2.4 million Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant that in 2017 enabled the hiring of 27 firefighters by the Camden Fire Department. In the letter, which was sent via email Monday night and was to be hand-delivered to Trenton Tuesday morning, Moran outlines a plan to save $2,439,000 through a number of measures, including what he and union officials characterized as a "restructuring" of the department's leadership.